The Simpsons

The Simpsons

The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...

' 18th season aired from September 10, 2006 to May 20, 2007. The season contained seven hold-over episodes from the season 17 (HABF) production line. Al Jean

Al Jean

Al Jean is an award-winning American screenwriter and producer, best known for his work on The Simpsons. He was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan and graduated from Harvard University in 1981. Jean began his writing career in the 1980s with fellow Harvard alum Mike Reiss...

 served as the Showrunner, a position he has held since the thirteenth season

The Simpsons (season 13)

The Simpsons thirteenth season originally aired on the Fox network between November 6, 2001 and May 22, 2002 and consists of 22 episodes. The show runner for the thirteenth production season was Al Jean who executive-produced 17 episodes...

.

The season finale, "You Kent Always Say What You Want

You Kent Always Say What You Want

"You Kent Always Say What You Want", formerly known as "Kent State Massacre", is the twenty-second episode of The Simpsons eighteenth season, airing on May 20, 2007 as part of the one-hour season finale, alongside the episode "24 Minutes"; a repeat took place on August 19, 2007. It was the...

", was the series' 400th episode. Additionally, the Simpsons franchise celebrated its 20th anniversary, as it has been on the air since April 1987, beginning with shorts on The Tracey Ullman Show

The Tracey Ullman Show

The Tracey Ullman Show was an American television variety show, hosted by British comedian and onetime pop singer Tracey Ullman. It debuted on April 5, 1987 as the Fox network's second primetime series after Married... with Children, and ran until May 26, 1990. The show blended sketch comedy shorts...

.

Season 18 included guest appearances by Metallica

Metallica

Metallica is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1981 when James Hetfield responded to an advertisement that drummer Lars Ulrich had posted in a local newspaper. The current line-up features long-time lead guitarist Kirk Hammett and bassist Robert Trujillo ...

, Tom Wolfe

Tom Wolfe

Thomas Kennerly "Tom" Wolfe, Jr. is a best-selling American author and journalist. He is one of the founders of the New Journalism movement of the 1960s and 1970s.-Early life and education:...

, Gore Vidal

Gore Vidal

Gore Vidal is an American author, playwright, essayist, screenwriter, and political activist. His third novel, The City and the Pillar , outraged mainstream critics as one of the first major American novels to feature unambiguous homosexuality...

, Michael Chabon

Michael Chabon

Michael Chabon born May 24, 1963) is an American author and "one of the most celebrated writers of his generation", according to The Virginia Quarterly Review....

, Jonathan Franzen

Jonathan Franzen

Jonathan Franzen is an American novelist and essayist. His third novel, The Corrections , a sprawling, satirical family drama, drew widespread critical acclaim, earned Franzen a National Book Award, and was a finalist for the 2002 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction...

, Fran Drescher

Fran Drescher

Francine Joy "Fran" Drescher is an American film and television actress, comedian, screenwriter, director, producer, author, singer, talk show host, political lobbyist and health activist...

, The White Stripes

The White Stripes

The White Stripes was an American rock band, formed in 1997 in Detroit, Michigan. The group consisted of the songwriter Jack White and drummer Meg White . Jack and Meg White were previously married to each other, but are now divorced...

, Kiefer Sutherland

Kiefer Sutherland

Kiefer Sutherland is an English-born Canadian actor, producer and director, best known for his portrayal of Jack Bauer on the Fox thriller drama series 24 for which he has won an Emmy Award , a Golden Globe award , two Screen Actors Guild Awards and two Satellite...

, Mary Lynn Rajskub

Mary Lynn Rajskub

Mary Lynn Rajskub is an American actress and comedian, best known for her leading role as Chloe O'Brian on the Fox action-thriller 24.-Early life:...

, Richard Lewis

Richard Lewis (comedian)

-Early life:Lewis was born in Brooklyn, New York City and was raised in Englewood, New Jersey. His father worked as a caterer and his mother was an actress. Lewis is Jewish. He later attended Ohio State University and was a member of the Alpha Epsilon Pi Fraternity....

, Phil McGraw

Phil McGraw

Phillip Calvin McGraw best known as Dr. Phil, is an American television personality, author, former psychologist, and the host of the television show Dr. Phil, which debuted in 2002...

, Elvis Stojko

Elvis Stojko

Elvis Stojko, MSC, MSM is a Canadian figure skater. He is a three-time World champion , two-time Olympic silver medalist , and seven-time Canadian champion ....

, Natalie Portman

Natalie Portman

Natalie Hershlag , better known by her stage name Natalie Portman, is an actress with dual American and Israeli citizenship. Her first role was as an orphan taken in by a hitman in the 1994 French action film Léon, but major success came when she was cast as Padmé Amidala in the Star Wars prequel...

, Jon Lovitz

Jon Lovitz

Jonathan "Jon" Lovitz is an American comedian, actor, and singer. He is best known as a cast member of the NBC sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live from 1985 to 1990.-Early life:...

, Betty White

Betty White

Betty White Ludden , better known as Betty White, is an American actress, comedienne, singer, author, and former game show personality. With a career spanning seven decades since 1939, she is best known to modern audiences for her television roles as Sue Ann Nivens on The Mary Tyler Moore Show and...

, Eric Idle

Eric Idle

Eric Idle is an English comedian, actor, author, singer, writer, and comedic composer. He was as a member of the British comedy group Monty Python, a member of the The Rutles on Saturday Night Live and author of the play, Spamalot....

, Sir Mix-a-Lot

Sir Mix-a-Lot

Anthony Ray , better known by his stage name Sir Mix-a-Lot, is an emcee and producer based in Seattle, Washington. The founder of the Nastymix record label, he debuted in 1988 with Swass...

, Stephen Sondheim

Stephen Sondheim

Stephen Joshua Sondheim is an American composer and lyricist for stage and film. He is the winner of an Academy Award, multiple Tony Awards including the Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre, multiple Grammy Awards, a Pulitzer Prize and the Laurence Olivier Award...

, Ronaldo

Ronaldo

Ronaldo Luís Nazário de Lima , commonly known as Ronaldo, is a retired Brazilian footballer who last played for Corinthians. Ronaldo is widely considered to be the greatest 'pure' striker in the history of the modern game, and by some accounts, in the history of football. Ronaldo was one of the...

, Meg Ryan

Meg Ryan

Margaret Mary Emily Anne Hyra , professionally known as Meg Ryan, is an American actress and producer. Raised in Bethel, Connecticut, Ryan began her acting career in 1981 in minor roles, before joining the cast of the CBS soap opera As the World Turns in 1982...

, Andy Dick

Andy Dick

Andrew R. "Andy" Dick is an American comedian, actor, musician and television/film producer. His first regular television role was on the short-lived but highly influential Ben Stiller Show. In the mid-1990s, he had a long-running stint on NBC's NewsRadio...

, Peter Bogdanovich

Peter Bogdanovich

Peter Bogdanovich is an American film historian, director, writer, actor, producer, and critic. He was part of the wave of "New Hollywood" directors, which included William Friedkin, Brian De Palma, George Lucas, Martin Scorsese, Michael Cimino, and Francis Ford Coppola...

, James Patterson

James Patterson

James B. Patterson is an American author of thriller novels, largely known for his series about American psychologist Alex Cross...

 and others.

Reception

Robert Canning of IGN

IGN

IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...

 gave the season a 6.6 saying it was "Passable" and that "Now in its eighteenth season (go ahead, say that out loud: "eighteen seasons"), The Simpsons continues to supply America with a decent half-hour of comedy every Sunday night. However, most long-time fans of the show agree that the last several years have seen the program in constant decline. Looking back at this particular season, there's little evidence to prove them wrong. Though we were treated with at least a few hilarious gems this year, the mediocre (to the downright terrible) heavily outweighed the great."

Awards

At the 35th

35th Annie Awards

The 35th Annual Annie Awards, honoring the best in animation for 2007, was held on February 8, 2008 at UCLA's Royce Hall. This was the first change of venue for the awards in nine years, being held at the Alex Theatre in Glendale, California since 1998 until last year. Ratatouille was the biggest...

 Annie Awards, Alf Clausen

Alf Clausen

Alf Clausen is an American film and television composer. He is best known for his work scoring many episodes of The Simpsons, of which he has been the sole composer since 1990...

 and Michael Price won the award for "Best Music in an Animated Television Production" for "Yokel Chords

Yokel Chords

"Yokel Chords" is the fourteenth episode of the eighteenth season of The Simpsons, which was originally broadcast on March 4, 2007. It was written by Michael Price, and directed by Susie Dietter. Guest starring Meg Ryan as Dr. Swanson, Peter Bogdanovich as a psychiatrist and Andy Dick, James...

" while Ian Maxtone-Graham

Ian Maxtone-Graham

Ian Maxtone-Graham is an American television writer and producer. He has written for Saturday Night Live and The Simpsons , and has also served as a co-executive producer and consulting producer for The Simpsons...

 and Billy Kimball

Billy Kimball

-Personal life:He was born in New York City and graduated from Harvard College where he was an editor of the Harvard Lampoon. He is currently married to the former Alexandra Manuela Vargas Hamilton and has two daughters.-Career:...

 won "Best Writing in an Animated Television Production" for "24 Minutes

24 Minutes

"24 Minutes" is the twenty-first episode of The Simpsons eighteenth season and was broadcast on May 20, 2007 as part of the one hour season finale, alongside the episode "You Kent Always Say What You Want". It was originally promoted as being the 400th episode, but was broadcast as the 399th. It...

" Jeff Westbrook

Jeff Westbrook

Jeff Westbrook is a TV writer best known for his work on The Simpsons and Futurama, for which he is a two-time winner of the WGA Award....

 won a WGA Award for "Kill Gil: Vols. 1 & 2" while Matt Selman

Matt Selman

Matthew "Matt" Selman is an American writer and producer. Selman grew up in Massachusetts, attended the University of Pennsylvania and was editor-in-chief of student magazine 34th Street Magazine. After considering a career in journalism, he decided to try and became a television writer...

 was nominated for "The Haw-Hawed Couple

The Haw-Hawed Couple

"The Haw-Hawed Couple" is the eighth episode of The Simpsons eighteenth season and first aired December 10, 2006. In the episode, Bart becomes Nelson's new best friend and under Nelson's protection no one dares to mess with Bart. It was written by Matt Selman and directed by Chris Clements. In its...

" and John Frink

John Frink

John Frink is an American television writer and producer. He has written several episodes of the American animated sitcom The Simpsons, many of which he co-wrote with his former writing partner Don Payne. Frink and Payne started their career in television writing for the short-lived sitcom Hope...

 received a nomination for "Stop or My Dog Will Shoot

Stop or My Dog Will Shoot

"Stop or My Dog Will Shoot!" is the twentieth episode of The Simpsons eighteenth season and first aired May 13, 2007. When Santa's Little Helper rescues a lost Homer, he becomes a local hero and the Simpsons decide to enroll him in Police Dog Academy, where he is teamed with Lou and they become a...

".

The series also received a British Comedy Award nomination for "Best International Comedy" a Primetime Emmy Award

Primetime Emmy Award

The Primetime Emmy Awards are awards presented by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences in recognition of excellence in American primetime television programming...

 nomination for Outstanding Animated Program

Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Program (For Programming less than One Hour)

The Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Program is a Creative Arts Emmy Award which is given annually to an animated series which is judged to have been the best...

 for "The Haw-Hawed Couple

The Haw-Hawed Couple

"The Haw-Hawed Couple" is the eighth episode of The Simpsons eighteenth season and first aired December 10, 2006. In the episode, Bart becomes Nelson's new best friend and under Nelson's protection no one dares to mess with Bart. It was written by Matt Selman and directed by Chris Clements. In its...

" and an Environmental Media Award nomination for "Best Television Episodic Comedy" for "The Wife Aquatic

The Wife Aquatic

The Wife Aquatic is the tenth episode of The Simpsons eighteenth season, which originally aired January 7, 2007. 13.9 million viewers watched this episode, making it the highest rated of seasons 17–20.-Plot:...

".

Nielsen Ratings

The show ranked 60th in the seasonal ratings with an average of 8.6 million watching it and a Nielsen rating

Nielsen Ratings

Nielsen ratings are the audience measurement systems developed by Nielsen Media Research, in an effort to determine the audience size and composition of television programming in the United States...

 of 4.1/10

Episodes

#	Title	Directed by	Written by	|Prod. code

External links

• Season 18 at The Simpsons.com